cumberland island

“what's the real scoop on campfires, camping in the dunes and on the beach at Cumberland Island ?”

“Just Say No.”

“No campfires at all Stovie?hmmmm”

“I know at brickhill, no campfires.
All camping only in designated areas by permit only.
No nothing in the dunes.
Plenty of walking and playing on the beach, no camping.”

“ok”

“yupp, no campfires. Here's a link:
http://www.nps.gov/cuis/pphtml/camping.html”

“Gem..can't you go to Sipsey..need girl power there..Ha!!!”

“trekkngirl, when is the sipsey trip? I may just do that. why? no other girls there?”

“http://www.nps.gov/cuis/pphtml/camping.html
http://www.nps.gov/cuis/pphtml/maps.html

Damn, Gem & yam going AGAIN and they didn't invite me????? ;-)”

“what yo mean? we are not going again! No, no, no!!!

Treckngirl, I saw the date. would be doable. hmm... wanna meet somewhere so we can hike in together?”

“I think divinity is going to the Sipsey Bushwack, weekend after this one.”

“oh, so this is a private cumberland island trip, thus the trollname huh?? LOL, you guys are funny!”

“Who's 'Treckngirl'??? ;-)”

“Hey Gem. I am meeting the dayhiker at TH on Friday at 0900 am..but we are on trail to camp about 2 mi.no prob. for you....”

“nope...but who is goodworks? that's okay...I may drive down there and scare ya all! hmmm... yeah!!”

“oh, you are early again huh? LOL, I won't make it friday morning, at least I don't think so, but who knows. I'll have to get directions, trailhead, etc... again.

I am not sure if I'll make this one though, it really depends on what other trips are out there.”

“Stovie yam ain't going..calm down..crap!!”

“If I can make it I will hike in on Friday night. Maybe we won't get lost!”

“LOL

Boo Hoo, I never get invited on the kewl private trips! ;-)

I'll drop dead from shock if Gem shows up at Sipsey. Ain't going to happen, and I even offered to teach her how to rapel there. ;-)”

“She came in last year all BY HERSELF I, don't think I could have done it...now there Stovie..
Be great to see you Karo.. :)”

“Yeah karo, ya ol' fart, be good to see ya again! ;-)”

“trekkngirl, here is a link to the map:

http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parks/cuis/ppMaps/ACF23B%2Epdf
I don't think that link copies right, but it's on the maps page that stovy posted.

that's pretty much the same map that you'll get at the island too.

SO NOT cut your hike short, you MUST hike the Roller Coaster Trail.

Neener neener neener...Stovy! I did come in all by myself 2 years ago. I didnt' hike in at night though. I didn't feel safe bushwacking at night.

bring your ropes man, bring your ropes. I am gonna be scared to death though...just letting you know. Oh...but keep them in the car, I don't want you to carry them to the campsite.
last edited: 2/15/05 10:19:21 PM”

“hmmmm, a ranger there at the orientation place told us "unofficially" over a year ago that a person could have a campfire on the beach, if it's below the high tide mark and would wash away.

honest! Surprised the heck outta me!”

“If I were to go, I'd do it like when gojo and I went at Thanksgiving 2003. Fly in late on a Wed. night... have reservations for the 11:45 ferry with the National Park Service person telling you all along you can PROBABLY get on the 9 a.m. ferry if there early enough.

Then have a backcountry site for one night, but hope that somebody will cancel and you can arrange for more nights once there -- and not have to leave after just one night.

You have to plan with what they give you, but hope for the best. But I had reserved the 4:45 ferry the next day "in case"... but, like I said, hoping to get more nights....

A lot of the time, it will work out! :-)”

“Unofficially being told a fire is ok = official fine.

No camping on the beach, no camping in the dunes, campfires only at seacamp, bring your own wood.”

“hpm... it was the person doing the orientation who said that, I believe to the only four of us going into the backcountry. Which would seem to be an official person.

I'm not saying I'd have a fire, but we were told that. Maybe it was some bad fill-in help.

And further disclaimer, lol, don't be suing me if you have a fire and get fined. LOL!

What else did the troll ask? Lets see, no camping in dunes or on the beach.
last edited: 2/16/05 8:05:15 AM”

“I personally don't see a reason to outlaw fires near water sources other than the usual tree stripping by morons that occurs.

But for a staff member to say that is a major shift and I guarantee that the actual rangers WILL ticket someone for a fire.”

“I would like to do a trip here, within the next month or so for a long weekend. If there is anyone interested”

“I was going, but I've changed my mind after reading some of these posts. If I lhave to pay their fees, I don't want pot luck. I want confirmed reservations or permits for every night there. And I want to do my trip, not what they are willing to assign if it differs.

"You have to plan with what they give you, ..."
lizs

"Sites are chosen upon arrival."

"All camping is limited to seven nights." (Sea Camp only or the entire trip." With my knees, I need 9-nights to do the Island.

”

“NS, it's a fragile piece of property, hence the regulations.

Also, although it sounds tough, as gojo said, he was there maybe five times in past years. Most of the time I believe he just showed up and managed to get on the ferry. When there, he managed to get sites.

They have a limit of 300 people a day on the island. Quite a few are day-timers, who hit the beach. And probably most of the others stay at Sea Camp, right there by the ferry landing. But I can't say how tight a rope they keep on who's in which backcountry campsite.

We stayed at Yankee Paradise the first night, which was around 6 miles or so. We went past Stafford Beach (out of the way, but a fun stop) and Hickory Hill. The other couple that was there headed to Brickhill, the farthest campsite, which is around 10 miles, I believe. I think I'd go for Brickhill the next time around, even if it meant arriving there in the dark.

It is certainly worth going, even if you don't get to see the whole island. This time of year I would guess reservations might be tough, what with spring break and all. Still... you can call a toll-free number each day to check for cancellations. When they make a reservation for you, if it's under a month from your date of arrival, they just take your name and contact info -- you don't have to put any money down.

Maybe you see the whole island in a couple different trips?? That's not so bad.... :-)”

“NS, they will work with you.
The staff is very accomodating and you being a party of one it's pretty easy to take care of.”

“HPM, how does it work when you take the Boy Scout groups there? Do they give you more definite info when you make reservations, since you're a larger group? (and what size is your group?)”

“No, not at all.
Maximum group size is 20.

We get reservations for 20 six months out and then fill the slots. Last two years we brought between 12 and 16. It's not my favorite thing to do (locking up slots I might not use) but I do it because there is now way to get people to commit that far out and if I don't do it we won't get on the island.

When we arrive, campsites are first come first served, based on date of reservation earliest to latest. They will allow us to break the group into smaller groups on separate permits. It's not the number of permits that matter to them it's the number of people in the backcountry and where they are staying each night.”

“Thanks humanpackmule and Lizs.

1. My plans may have to change because of my daughters medical condition.

2. I did recognize that being alone might help. Like I thought it might help by going before the 1^st of March, which seems to be the date of additional services.

3. I wanted to be at Cataloochee CG in GSMNP on opening day, March 12^th. Likely there will be some old acquantances and friends there for the opening and I would enjoy seeing them. I would then continue my program in GSMNP until going north for my youngest daughter's graduation at Grinnell.

4. If the limit of 7 days applies to the whole trip and not just Sea Camp, I could not do the whole Island in one trip.

5. For my first trip to work on my weight and legs, I want to start slow. I'm stretching it at 3 to 3.5 miles per day. I can't chance having to do a longer distance if I want to do more than Sea Camp.

6. I can wait until I'm in better condition and can do the Island in fewer days and with longer distances, if necessary.

Thanks for your help. I'll check out that 7-day limitation some time.”

“Paul I'd just call them and explain your situation. If they won't work with you ask for a manager and ask them about the Americans with Disabilities act.

Or make two back to back reservations.
last edited: 2/17/05 10:19:35 AM”

“Thanks, humanpackmule. Appreciate your suggestions. I will do it, but for now my trip there is off. I don't feel that I can make any arrangements until my daughter gets settled somehow. I was just trying to explain my feelings and what I had planned. And, noting the things you have said, my next pass at it will probably be with a deep-in-advance reservation.

I don't have a certified disability, I'm going to again ask my doctor for a parking sticker the next time I see her. (Hmmm! I did see her this morning, but only in a passing greeting in the hospital.) They don't yet give a disability for people with poor diet control. And I am always in much better condition after a good trip to the GSMNP. I'm really at home in GSMNP.

---

last edited: 2/17/05 12:16:12 PM”

“OK, a local gal just returned from a trip there with her hubby.

Nice, although the mosquitos came out like wild on the day the temps got up in the 70s.”

“Well yeah.
What do you expect from an island in a coastal wetland?”

“So, in other words,

DOH!!!!

LOL! Hey, just a firsthand report, in case anyone was wondering.”

“I thought the term was 'DUH'. ;-)”

“DEET is your friend.”

“That's always funny to me. Pepole come to the deep south and say the bugs are bad. Then we sell them land that gets knee deep in water when it rains, and on their way home, they think, I just ripped off that dumb @ss. God I love the south.”

“Hey Flatlander Matt, you just described areas around the boundary waters in Minnesota too!”

“Ha, they don't have mosquitos in Minnesota.”

“Then those little bastards biting me up there last summer musta been Canadian bugs that snuck over the border.”

“My favorite is those Gulf sand gnats(Fling teeth)!”

““Then those little bastards biting me up there last summer musta been Canadian bugs that snuck over the border.”
humanpackmule

That's because our country spends way too much money keeping the Cubans and Mexicans out. What about our Northern borders?! We need to lobby for more $$ to keep the Canadian mosquitos out!!! Who's with me?”

“The mosquitos are pretty bad on CI. Just be glad the gators on the Island are pretty tame and don't bite.”

“Yeah!
And everyone knows the Mexicans and Cubans make way better food than the mosquitos!”

“They don't have mosquitos in Minnesota because the Minnesota mosquito is recognized as the state bird!”